Find the top rated bike trails in Cedar Lake, whether you're looking for an easy short bike trail or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a bike trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The Tinley Creek Trail is currently in two segments. This southern segment is within the South Green Belt Forest Preserve between Flossmor and Matteson, just west of I-57. The trail traverses wooded...
The Palos Heights Bike Trail offers a north-south route through residential and commercial areas on the west side of the community. It's also a key connector between two regionally important...
Turkey Creek Trail is a short but sweet walk or ride through the beautiful Ivan Gatlin Nature Preserve in the northwestern Indiana community of Schererville. This wetland area provides the opportunity...
The North Branch Trail follows the North Branch of the Chicago River over 20 miles through Cook County. The trail was originally a dirt path often used for horseback riding; though it’s now paved, an...
As the name suggests, the Lake George trail travels along the north shore of Lake George, turning north at Calumet Ave/US 41 to skirt the east shore of Wolf Lake. From Lake George the trail also heads...
First-time visitors to the Oak Savannah Trail might be surprised at the profusion of natural areas they’ll encounter as they travel the 9.5 miles between Hobart and Griffith in northern Indiana’s...
The Pennsy Greenway is currently open in three segments between Calumet City, Illinois, and Schererville, Indiana. The northern portion begins at the southern end of the Burnham Greenway in Calumet...
This regional trail connects two of DuPage County's forest preserves—Herrick Lake and Danada—on a crushed stone pathway nearly 6 miles long. Together, the preserves cover more than 1,600 acres of...
The DuPage River Trail spans nearly 30 miles across two counties: DuPage and Will. It's currently open in several disconnected segments mainly in parks and forest preserves beginning in Warrenville...
The Lincolnwood Valley Line Trail connects the existing Valley Line Trail (Sauganash Trail) to the Skokie Valley Trail in Cook County. Like the previous segments, this trail occupies a former Union...
The Orland Park Bikeway provides a great connector across the Chicago suburb of Orland Park. On its southern end, the trail begins at W. 159th Street and winds its way through Centennial Park, which...
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The northern section of the Tinley Creek Trail is a series of color-coded connected loops and spurs that weave through several forest preserves in Cook County. The 24-mile trail system is paved,...
Indiana’s Panhandle Pathway follows a former Pennsylvania Railroad corridor out of Winamac south to Kenneth. Along the way, the trail links the communities of Star City, Thornhope, and Royal Center...
The Fermilab Trail garners its name by running though the campus of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), the former home of the Tevatron particle accelerator. The 3.9-mile particle...
The Des Plaines River Trail runs alongside the Des Plaines River for just over 56 miles, protecting watershed habitat and forestland through much of Lake and Cook Counties. The trail is a natural...
The Cal-Sag Trail (or, Calumet-Sag Trail) is currently under active construction. As of early 2018, it has a competed section of about 13 miles, stretching from near its western terminus at the John...
The Commonwealth Edison Bikeway is a short paved trail that occupies an overhead electric utility corridor owned by Commonwealth Edison, the local utility company—hence the trail's name. While lacking...
The Marquette Trail offers picturesque views of Lake Michigan as it travels through the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. This scenic route follows an abandoned rail line through a variety of diverse...
Little Calumet River Levee Trail stretches from Munster to Gary, Indiana. The trail zigs and zags through a number of local parks including Riverside Park, Wicker Memorial Park, Homestead Park,...
The Calumet Trail traverses the south side of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, a unique ecosystem of forest, marsh, dunes and beach along Lake Michigan. This dirt and crushed limestone path...
In just a few short miles, the Wauponsee Glacial Trail leaves the urban confines of Joliet to bask in open farmland and reclaimed tallgrass prairie where the bison roam again. Named for a glacial lake...
First-time visitors to the Oak Savannah Trail might be surprised at the profusion of natural areas they’ll encounter as they travel the 9.5 miles between Hobart and Griffith in northern Indiana’s...
The Fermilab Trail garners its name by running though the campus of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), the former home of the Tevatron particle accelerator. The 3.9-mile particle...
Indiana’s Panhandle Pathway follows a former Pennsylvania Railroad corridor out of Winamac south to Kenneth. Along the way, the trail links the communities of Star City, Thornhope, and Royal Center...
The North Shore Channel Trail extends from the junction of Green Bay Road and McCormick Boulevard in northern Evanston to the junction of Lawrence Avenue and Francisco Avenue in Chicago. All but the...
The Tinley Creek Trail is currently in two segments. This southern segment is within the South Green Belt Forest Preserve between Flossmor and Matteson, just west of I-57. The trail traverses wooded...
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Illinois’ Centennial Trail runs through parts of three suburban counties from Willow Springs Road to Romeo Road/135th Street southwest of Chicago. The trail occupies a thin strip of land between the...
The Commonwealth Edison Bikeway is a short paved trail that occupies an overhead electric utility corridor owned by Commonwealth Edison, the local utility company—hence the trail's name. While lacking...
The Hickory Creek Bikeway offers nearly 4 miles of paved pathway through a wooded preserve. On its western end, the trail begins at Hickory Creek Barrens Nature Preserve and Lincolnway Road; on the...
The Thorn Creek Trail offers a paved route traversing woodlands abundant with wildlife through several communities on the southern outskirts of Chicago. The trail travels from Brownwell Woods in...
The Palos Heights Bike Trail offers a north-south route through residential and commercial areas on the west side of the community. It's also a key connector between two regionally important...
The Des Plaines River Trail runs alongside the Des Plaines River for just over 56 miles, protecting watershed habitat and forestland through much of Lake and Cook Counties. The trail is a natural...
The Burnham Greenway is composed of two distinct portions that both run along a former railroad corridor between Chicago and Lansing, Illinois. There are plans to extend and connect these short...
Prairies and dunes are just two of the natural features you’ll experience on the Prairie Duneland Trail, located just a few miles south of the Lake Michigan shoreline and the Indiana Dunes National...
The North Judson Erie Trail occupies the railbanked right-of-way of the former JK Line Railroad, running 9 miles from downtown North Judson southeast to US 35 near Bass Lake. Eventually, the trail...
Turkey Creek Trail is a short but sweet walk or ride through the beautiful Ivan Gatlin Nature Preserve in the northwestern Indiana community of Schererville. This wetland area provides the opportunity...
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The Monon Trail in Lake County, Indiana—not to be confused with the trail of the same name in Indianapolis—links the two Chicago suburbs of Hammond and Munster. The paved trail occupies an abandoned...
The Union Pacific Recreation Path offers a short route through the Village of Lincolnwood's east side between Devon and Touhy avenues. Following the former Union Pacific Railroad, the rail-trail...
The Orland Park Bikeway provides a great connector across the Chicago suburb of Orland Park. On its southern end, the trail begins at W. 159th Street and winds its way through Centennial Park, which...
The northern section of the Tinley Creek Trail is a series of color-coded connected loops and spurs that weave through several forest preserves in Cook County. The 24-mile trail system is paved,...
The Illinois Prairie Path (IPP) was one of the nation’s first rail-trail conversions. It consists of five connected trail segments with three main branches that converge at Volunteer Park (West...
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The Skokie Valley Trail in Cook County parallels active train tracks in the Village of Skokie, providing easy access to both the Oakton–Skokie and Dempster–Skokie stations on the CTA’s Yellow Line....
The DuPage River Trail spans nearly 30 miles across two counties: DuPage and Will. It's currently open in several disconnected segments mainly in parks and forest preserves beginning in Warrenville...
The Orland Park Bikeway provides a great connector across the Chicago suburb of Orland Park. On its southern end, the trail begins at W. 159th Street and winds its way through Centennial Park, which...
The Marquette Trail offers picturesque views of Lake Michigan as it travels through the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. This scenic route follows an abandoned rail line through a variety of diverse...
The North Branch Trail follows the North Branch of the Chicago River over 20 miles through Cook County. The trail was originally a dirt path often used for horseback riding; though it’s now paved, an...
El Paseo runs through the vibrant Chicago neighborhood of Pilsen, once home to a large Czech population but now the center of the Lower West Side’s Latino community. The neighborhood is filled with...
Just 1 mile long, the Valley Line Trail—also known as the Sauganash Trail—extends between Bryn Mawr Avenue and Devon Avenue in the Chicago neighborhood of Sauganash. Two bridges allow for safe...
The Palos Heights Bike Trail offers a north-south route through residential and commercial areas on the west side of the community. It's also a key connector between two regionally important...
The Calumet Trail traverses the south side of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, a unique ecosystem of forest, marsh, dunes and beach along Lake Michigan. This dirt and crushed limestone path...
The Monon Trail in Lake County, Indiana—not to be confused with the trail of the same name in Indianapolis—links the two Chicago suburbs of Hammond and Munster. The paved trail occupies an abandoned...
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The Salt Creek Trail travels nearly 27 miles from the Brookfield Zoo to Busse Woods Forest Preserve. Along the way it connects several beautiful county forest preserves and other woodland...
The Joliet Junction Trail is a paved path that travels north–south through the west side of Joliet. It occupies an abandoned Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway corridor that in its last years was known...
The Thorn Creek Trail offers a paved route traversing woodlands abundant with wildlife through several communities on the southern outskirts of Chicago. The trail travels from Brownwell Woods in...
The Commonwealth Edison Bikeway is a short paved trail that occupies an overhead electric utility corridor owned by Commonwealth Edison, the local utility company—hence the trail's name. While lacking...
The Chesapeake and Ohio Greenway (also referred to as the C&O Trail) offers a short, paved route through Merrillville, a town just a few miles south of Gary and the southern tip of Lake Michigan. The...
Prairies and dunes are just two of the natural features you’ll experience on the Prairie Duneland Trail, located just a few miles south of the Lake Michigan shoreline and the Indiana Dunes National...
This regional trail connects two of DuPage County's forest preserves—Herrick Lake and Danada—on a crushed stone pathway nearly 6 miles long. Together, the preserves cover more than 1,600 acres of...
The North Judson Erie Trail occupies the railbanked right-of-way of the former JK Line Railroad, running 9 miles from downtown North Judson southeast to US 35 near Bass Lake. Eventually, the trail...
The Dunes Kankakee Trail is a 3-mile walking and bike path that begins in the Indiana Dunes State Park and travels south to Chesterton. It connects the Calumet Trail, which is also in the state park,...
Loved exploring this trail today! A bit hillier than Prairie or Salt Creek but nice rolling up and down both ways. We easily found Sag Quaries with Google Maps off of 83 and jumped right on. Couldn't believe no street crossings all the way to Nicks BBQ at the end of the trail! We stopped for lunch than headed back. Nice 24 miles! Loved the Lake Katherine area and the low traffic on this trail! We'll do it again in the fall as the foliage will be beautiful!
I am embarrassed to admit that I have lived in the area for 20+ years and have driven by this little gem more times than I can remember. It is gorgeous!! I took my bike and was amazed at the number of trails and how large the area is. I went on a weekday afternoon so while many people were there walking their dogs or just enjoying the solitude, it never felt crowded. There were many stretches where I was completely alone and had the trail to myself. The parking lot of the Herrick Road entrance can accommodate many cars. It's a great oasis in the Western suburbs and I can't wait to go back!!
When people think of trails, they think of trees, prairies, forest, ponds and lakes. You get very little of that here. But it’s an experience. Carving through the local neighborhoods to complete this “trail”. If you’re not comfortable south of 105th, take your whisk broom back to your cozy higher tax bracket trails. I’m on a mission to bike or walk all Cook county Forest Preserve trails this summer. Wish me luck!
This trail has a little bit of everything! Our family parked at the Davis Campground trail head. There was plenty of parking, a picnic area and a restroom at that location. The first 3.6 miles of the 10.6 mile (each way) trail is crushed rock - so I would not recommend that portion for folks with road bikes. The rest of the trail is asphalt which is in good condition. The busy sections (through Kankakee River State Park) are divided with markings for left/right traffic. There are some hilly sections, but there's nothing too tough and 90% of the length of the trail is shaded by a lush tree canopy. Some of the highlights of the trail include a suspension bridge, multiple lookout spots along the river - and some really fun twisty turning sections that keep you focused and alert behind the handlebars! Our family stopped at the suspension bridge where there is walking trail access to river below. Below the bridge there are rocks to climb on to explore the clear river water and it's many fish. To make a day of it, bring lunch to enjoy at one of the many picnic/lookout areas along this beautiful and well maintained river. Just a great day of exercise, nature observing and family fun! Highly recommend.
We rode the trail Wed, July 25. First time since last fall. We were pleasantly surprised to find the parking lot off of 135th St to be newly paved with the parking spaces marked! In addition, the port-a-potty, which was clean, and handicap accessible, has been replaced by a permanent large vault toilet. It remains clean. We rode from 135th St to the fork that branches off to the Cal-Sag. Great Trail, but no other facilities or benches other than the two, one and two miles from 135 St. Great trail, but could use some flashing lights just before you cross the road to enter the industrial area. Lots of traffic there. I believe that is Lamont Rd. Loved riding through Waterfall Glen.
I've ridden this trail many times at different times of the year. There are several branches - Elgin, Geneva, Aurora, Batavia - and it also extends eastward from Wheaton/Dupage County. Most recently on a perfect day (July 24, 2019) I rode the Fox River Trail to the Geneva branch to the Aurora branch. Each time I hope it will be a better experience but alas it's just a flat out boring grind. It should really be called the ComEd trail since a lot of it follows ComEd high tension wires - which means straight as a ruler flat as a pancake boring as heck miles. The only other trail that is straighter an more boring is the so-called Great Western Trail from Sycamore to St. Charles. - yuk.
Granted, some of the path goes through nicely wooded areas - for example from West Chicago to Wheaton and the Aurora branch to 59 with the exception of a mile or so is fairly nice.
About 90% of the trail is crushed stone - some of it badly in need of attention and maintenance. I realize it was an unusually wet Spring and lots of flooding - but some of the path is dicey. There's a stretch just west of Farnsworth Road that has been "patched" with rough cut stone - NOT crushed rock - that is dangerous - especially if one hits it as speed.
From Geneva to West Chicago and from West Chicago to Aurora it's just a grind. Nothing much to look at, very little variation in direction and mild change in elevation - just pounding out the miles. Lots of weeds to ComEd's "Prairie Restoration" especially in comparison to the Prairie Restoration at Fermi Lab which is much more diverse and interesting - and authentic.
With the beauty of the Fox River trail is an alternative - as well as several others - I'm writing the Prairie Path off my list.
I live near Fermilab and can access it by bike without having to drive over. 99 times out of 100 I probably wouldn't choose this path. Fermi is a huge chunk of land that should offer a far better bike trail in my opinion. As it stands the path that leads you from the west side of the property to the east can be best described as a straight-ish cement/asphalt trail with little more eye candy than the main building itself. They used to house buffalo to the east on their farm but they were moved out years ago. Now all that stands is a farmhouse. Near the east side of the property is a small village but aside from a bathroom and maybe a vending machine, there's nothing of interest here. To get more miles you can veer off on any road in the compound but these take you down gritty asphalt roads without much more fanfair, and a bumpy ride to show for it. There's a lot of potential for a great bike path in here, but I don't think the powers that be want a great deal of folks meandering through. By the way, be prepared to show your ID to get in. That is mandatory.
Simply put, it doesn't get any better than this in Illinois. Referred to as the Lake Michigan Trail, this one can be ridden along the lake for more than the advertised 19 miles. I've done every inch of this path numerous times and always look forward to coming back. The entire trail is cement or asphalt making it an easy mover. Wind can obviously play a role (yeah, go figure) as can traffic (many walk, peddle and run this trail). The sites...well...they are as you can imagine, limitless. There are an endless number of places to stop for a rest and an equal number of curiousities to pull over and check out. My favorite is north of Oak Street beach. After a good number of miles I like to pit stop here and jump into the lake to cool off. This isn't for everybody. : ) In all seriousness this path has so much to offer you might ride it 50 times before noticing something new.
Unlike its superior sister trail to the west, the GFT-D falls short. While living in Wheaton for years I rarely gave this path any of my time. It was sun-baked, not the best kept and didn't offer any of the scenery that its sister trail does in Kane County. In all honesty, I would recommend avoiding this path and making your way west to the 'better' segment. Or test both out and come to the same conclusion.
This trail started around the lake, then opened up to the back area making path available to Warrenville Road, Herrick Road and Naperville Road. While the Herrick lake area was always nice I especially enjoy the segment that heads over to Naperville Road and through Danada Farms and the nearby lake that ends at Butterfield Road. The area in the back of Herrick is just circular paths without frills, but they offer additional miles.
For close to five years I lived at the zero marker for the IPP in Wheaton. This gave me unabated access to a wonderful path that offered multiple paths in every direction. Each path differed in terms of scenery but the trail was always kept up nicely and offered great views of parks, towns and history. I don't ride the IPP much these days as I live near the Fox River Trail and call that my favorite now. But I have very fond memories of riding every inch of the IPP more than many times. Cheers.
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